On his 19th birthday, James E. Brown tries to fake to his flight instructor that he has flown before. On his 21st birthday, Brown is on his way home after logging 85 missions in a P-47 fighter over Italy, France, and Germany. Brown's stories surrounding his training and combat experiences in World War II reveal brushes with death, continuous peril and, ultimately, a coming of age for a young man whose freshman year in college becomes instead a heroic engagement with one of the fiercest enemies his country has ever encountered.

Good read !

Good performance, ok srory<br />

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-26-18

Interesting story about P47 fliers near the end of WWIi. The narrator tried to build up suspense and I kept waiting for more action. Don't get me wrong, author and his colleagues made a great contribution and sacrifice, but a little mundane.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Paradise General

Riding the Surge at a Combat Hospital in Iraq

By:
David Hnida M.D.

Narrated by:
George K. Wilson

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
56

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
42

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
41

A family doctor with limited surgical experience, Dr. Dave Hnida volunteered for two tours of duty in Iraq - first as a battalion surgeon with a combat unit and then as trauma chief at the busiest Combat Support Hospital (CSH) during the Surge. Like a modern-day M*A*S*H, Dr. Hnida and his team conducted surgery under terrible conditions in a series of tents connected to the occasional run-down building.

Excellent!

Great insights into the intense pressures of a part of war we rarely hear about. Often heart-wrenching and hilarious. Narrator perfect fit for the sardonic attitude of the author.

The Heart and the Fist

The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL

By:
Eric Greitens

Narrated by:
Eric Greitens

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,464

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,199

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,204

Like many young idealists, Eric Greitens wanted to make a difference. During college and afterward, he traveled to the world's trouble spots, working in refugee camps, serving the sick and the poor on four continents, from Gaza to Croatia to Mother Teresa's home in Calcutta, among others. Yet he could not prevent violence or save anyone from becoming a refugee; he could only step in afterward and try to ease the damage. So Eric joined the Navy SEALs and became an elite warrior....

Extraordinary tale of a life well-lived.

This is a memorable book that spurs the reader to act on his or her best impulses.

Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II

By:
Philip Ardery

Narrated by:
James Killavey

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
79

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
74

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
72

"The sky was full of dying airplanes" as American Liberator bombers struggled to return to North Africa after their daring low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti. They lost 446 airmen and 53 planes, but Philip Ardery's plane came home. This pilot was to take part in many more raids on Hitler's Europe, including air cover for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This vivid firsthand account records one man's experience of World War II air warfare.

Fascinating...and true story

This narrator ruins the book

I returned a book once because of this narrator. Didn't check to see who it was this time, made it through the first 30 seconds and quit.

6 of 40 people found this review helpful

Through These Portals

A Pacific War Saga

By:
Wayne C. MacGregor

Narrated by:
James Killavey

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
23

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
22

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
22

This remarkably immediate memoir tells of the U.S Army's essential role in the Pacific campaigns alongside the Navy and Marine Corps. America's sons, born in the first quarter of the 20th century, were forged in the twin crucibles of the Great Depression and World War II. The values and attitudes of these mostly idealistic young males ultimately sustained them in horrific trials against incredibly courageous, and often suicidally-committed, Japanese soldiers blindly loyal to their superior officers and the Emperor.

Could not make it through

The story was fine, I had to stop listening because the narrator was so distracting His speech pattern and odd pronunciation mad this the first book in years I have not finished.

1 of 34 people found this review helpful

Fearless

The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown

By:
Eric Blehm

Narrated by:
Paul Michael

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,839

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,544

Story

5 out of 5 stars
3,557

When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan - but he was ready: In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, "I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me."

Supurb story

Moving, exciting story of an extraordinary man. Wonderful narration, strongly recommend this author and nattator.

Good to Go

The Life and times of a Decorated Member of the U.S. Navy's Elite Seal Team Two

By:
Harry Constance,
Randall Fuerst

Narrated by:
Todd McLaren

Length: 15 hrs and 49 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
646

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
584

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
589

Good to Go is Constance's powerful, firsthand account of his three tours of duty as a member of America's most elite, razor-sharp stealth fighting force. It is a breathtaking memoir of harrowing missions and covert special-ops - from the floodplains of the Mekong Delta to the beaches of the South China Sea - that places the listener in the center of bloody ambushes and devastating firefights. But Constance's extraordinary adventure goes even farther - beyond 'Nam.

Best Vietnam Book I have heard!!!

Good action, too long

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-06-15

Accounts of Constance ' s growth into SEALS and action were excellent. His personal story took up an inordinate amount of the story and was pretty self-serving. Book would have been better at about 2/3 the b length.

South Pacific Destroyer

The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf

By:
Russell Sydnor Crenshaw

Narrated by:
Alan Bomar Jones

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
34

Performance

3 out of 5 stars
32

Story

4 out of 5 stars
31

Russell Crenshaw's riveting account of the savage night battle for the Solomon Islands in early 1943 offers listeners a unique insider's perspective from the decks of one of the destroyers that bore the brunt of the struggle.

Great History - Hard Listen.

Horrible Narration!

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-05-12

Cannot recommend - this is the first book I have not been able to finish - as another reader remarked the narrator is horrible. Despite trying to infuse his own interpretation of drama, his narration actually comes off as annoying. Too bad, liked the premise but couldn't stand listening to the reader.